Children's Books (ages 8-12) • Novels

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BALL HANGING IN THE AIR

Behiç Ak

Editor: Müren Beykan

When we were children, the world too was like a child!

Behiç Ak’s children’s novels collection is considered as one of the cornerstones of Turkish children’s literature. In this new novel of the collection, Ak makes us wander through the universe of unspoken matters with his fiction layered with humor. The book gives hope and courage with the curiosity and creativity of children which dissolves the cloud of mystery on townspeople who are conditioned to forget and addicted to their habits. It makes us to think that children’s games are some kind of theatre, the meaning of April 23rd Children’s Day, the social effects of natural disasters, the frightening power of habits, the joy of producing words in mother tongue, and the kid hidden in every adult.

Overview

Serkan, who is fond of underwater world, is curious about the newly appointed district governor. When the district governor criticizes the sloppy living habits of the townspeople, the adults remain silent, while the children have already consulted their very skilled word generator friend Zekiye, and they have already pursued the causes. The sculpture park, which was submerged in the water during the earthquake, and the family history of Bal, who was offended by the nickname of “blabber mouth,” begins to emerge. On April 23rd things get complicated when the officials leave their posts to the children for one day as a custom for honoring The Children’s Day. The secrets of the past, knotted in a football game, seem to start the change in the town…

AUTHOR

Behiç Ak

He was born in Samsun and studied architecture in Yıldız University and İstanbul Technical University. He’s a well-known cartoonist, author, illustrator, and documentary film director. He draws daily cartoons for Cumhuriyet Newspaper since 1982. His cartoons were exhibited in several countries like Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. Besides his plays Separation (Ayrılık) and Building (Bina), his two other plays Fault Line (Fay Hattı) and City for One (Tek Kişilik Şehir) were staged in Europe and attracted big interest. The documentary film he produced and directed in 1994, […]
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